No idea why the mainline isn’t blasted through the middle other than to save the bushes. Definite head scratcher since all those signals don’t exactly make it a low cost alternative. That said Im also 128% for it.
You're right. I missed that sign. It's odd that bikes would be prohibited from Rte 28 south of the rotary because this is not an expressway, but just a divided highway with a lot of curb cuts and cross traffic. Maybe that could be changed to allow bikes to use the paved shoulders on rte 28 down to where rte 28a takes off, once the new bridge is built.
rte 3/6 is an expressway on both sides.
I would not feel safe riding a bike along 28. It's a road where the speed limit is 45-50 mph and people drive a bit faster than that. Besides, there is already an expansive bike trail that runs from Woods Hole up to 151. So adding in bike specific lanes on 28 would not be needed.
I like the idea of a separate bike crossing over the canal (instead of on the two proposed road bridge replacements). But, as far as it actually getting done, the two new road bridges are the politically and fiscally expedient way to go, since they are funded and will probably happen in the (near?) future.
To be clear, I'm not opposed to rebuilding the bridges. I'm just annoyed that it is always so much easier to find funding for large car infrastructure projects when we so desperately need to spend more on transit.
I'm thinking it might be good to have a dedicated bus lane in each direction over the new bridges, to accommodate intercity buses as well as tourist buses. I don't see that option in the public involvement material.
Haha, yeah, it would hard to be more blatantly pushing the desired design. That said, the arch or cable stayed both are probably the best choice, so if they want to push the arch then fine.
Agreed that they're clearly pushing that design. But lets be honest: there are enough NIMBYs around that anything remotely different will never get off the page. May as well just accept that and help smooth the way forward.
Well, sure, but I'd guess a lot of that is skillful tea leaf reading. The arch design is clearly best from an aesthetic and historic/cultural preservation standpoint. The cable stayed, frankly, looks ridiculous, and the concrete box is a generic highway overpass that would fit perfectly along a section of I-10 passing over Alabama swampland.
If we're already spending for a new bridge, why the hell are we not eliminating the rotary for an interchange like we did with Sagamore? The crash stats at both the Bourne and Otis rotaries are horrifying...some of the worst in the whole state. This isn't a tangible enough improvement to move the needle on that; it's putting lipstick on a pig.
I think that's actually the point - They're putting lipstick on it for cheap so they can say they're doing something about crashes while they wait for any major changes to be advanced as part of the bridge project, given that this is expected to cost just 37% of the programmed TIP amount.